Community Safety Weekend 22nd to 25th September 2011

September 21st, 2011

This weekend the town of Balbriggan will play host to a major community safety weekend with a host of various activities planned for everyone. Full details, including a programme of events, are available from the Balbriggan info website at : http://www.balbriggan.info/Balbriggan_Community_Safety_Week_22_to-25_Sep11.shtml and also check out boards.ie for more detailed info: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055856230&page=9

Some of the highlights of the weekend include:

Thursday: a fun quiz in O’Dwyers GAA club from 8pm. The night will feature questions from many of the organisations taking place over the course of the weekend.

Friday: The weekly farmers market at the Square, Balbriggan will host stalls from the various emergency services and safety organisations with lots of info, advice and of course free goodies for all. Skerries Coast Guard team members will be on hand to answer any water safety questions or concerns you have. 

Saturday: Balbriggan Garda station will be open for tours from 2 – 6pm, giving everyone the chance to take a look behind the scenes at the busy station. This is a family orientated event and there will be children’s activities and entertainment.

Sunday: From 1pm on Sunday, the Church carpark at Balbriggan will be transformed into a major safety roadshow. Skerries Coast Guard will be joined by their fellow volunteers from Howth Coast Guard to showcase the various Coast Guard search and rescue resources. This will give visitors the chance to take a hands on look at one of our high speed Patrol Boats, off road rescue vehicle, cliff rescue teams, shore rescue teams and of course a Coast Guard Sikorsky helicopter will perfom a aerobatical display.

The Coast Guard team will also have a host of water safety info and free goodies, so come early!

Marine Flare demonstrations and lifejacket clinics

At the Sunday roadshow, we will also be giving the public the chance to learn more about marine distress flares. This will include advice on the various types of flares available, which ones are right for your activity and hands on practice at firing them.

The Coast Guard crew will also be available to answer any questions you have about lifejackets, the regulations and laws on wearing them at sea, the various types and how to maintain them correctly.

Other highlights of the Sunday roadshow include: The Road Safety Authority’s driving simulator and the Audi A4 rollover simulator – experience in safety what a car rollover actually feels like and why seatbelts are so important. The Fire Brigade will perform a car crash rescue re-enactment at 3pm, showing how they can rescue crash victims from car wreckage. The Civil Defence will also be there with all their various crews and vehicles including offroad vehicles, Fire Brigade Applicnace and command unit.

The weekend is organised by the community policing forum (www.cpforum.ie) and is intended to improve the local cummunities’ safety awareness through the various events and initiatives taking place. 

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Person in difficulty – 17th Sept 2011

September 17th, 2011

Shortly after 03:20 this morning, the Skerries Coast Guard team were paged to investigate reports of a person in difficulty in the water near Rush, 4 miles South of Skerries. The Garda helicopter was also tasked to assist with the search for the person. The Skerries Coast Guard team arrived at the scene within minutes and located the person in the water. The casualty was successfully helped from the water with assistance from a Skerries lifeboat crewman. The Skerries Coast Guard assessed and treated the casualty for mild hypothermia at the scene.

Remember – if you spot someone in difficulty in the water, even if you only think someone could be in difficulty, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the COAST GUARD. Your call could save their life.

Incident #19 of 2011

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Report of boats in difficulty near Rush – 14th September 2011

September 14th, 2011

Skerries Coast Guard rescue vehicle overlooking Lambay Island

 

 This afternoon, the Skerries Coast Guard team were tasked to investigate a report of a boat in difficulty off the coast of Rush, approximately 5 miles South of Skerries. A concerned member of the public had contacted the Coast Guard’s operation centre on 999 to report a yacht that appeared to be in difficulty near Lambay island. The weather conditions on scene were extremely challenging and the yacht appeared to be having difficulty making headway. Of most concern was its proximity to the rocky shores of Lambay isalnd. The Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 116 was also tasked from its base at Dublin airport.

Upon arriving at Rush, the Skerries Coast Guard team monitored the yacht and observed that it was successfully making good progress away from the shoreline and no further action was required. Before the Skerries team and Rescue 116 had departed, the Coast Guard’s operations centre received another unrelated report from a member of the public at Rush.

A small boat had been spotted drifting out to sea from Rogerstown estuary. The caller was concerned that there may have been a person on board. The coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 116, quickly located the boat approximately 1 mile West of Lambay island and reported no persons on board. Initial investigations by Rescue 116 suggested that the boat’s mooring rope may have snapped in the rough conditions. Nonetheless, an extensive search of the area was immediately undertaken by Rescue 116 and nothing further was sighted. In the meatnime, the Coast Guard managed to trace the boat’s owner who confirmed that it had broken its moorings and that no persons were on board. No further action was required and the Skerries Coast Guard team returned to base.

Incident # 18 of 2011

Remember – if you spot someone in difficulty, even if you only think they could be in difficulty, call 999 or 112 and ask for the COAST GUARD. Your call could save their life.

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Skerries honoured with award!

September 11th, 2011

Skerries Coast Guard extends its congratulations to the Skerries Community who last night were honoured with a prestigious People of the Year award at a glittering ceremony in Dublin.This award is in recognition of the community’s unrelenting support for the search for the two missing fishermen, David & Ronan, earlier this year.

To view the presenting of the award, check out the video on the Skerries News website. The full awards ceremony can be viewed on RTE player.

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Skerries Community Nominated!

September 6th, 2011

The Skerries community have been nominated for a People of the Year Award in recognition of their support for the search for the two missing fishermen, Ronan & David, earlier this year. The final award winner will be announced at the awards ceremony, on Saturday 10th September, to be broadcast live on RTE One from 21:30.

 

These prestigous national awards, now in their 36th year, are intended to honour the outstanding contributions made by individuals and organisations to the lives of others. The awards acknowledge the truly inspirational, courageous and talented people within our society.

Throughout the extensive search for Ronan & David, the Skerries community displayed an unrelenting support and dedication in assisting with the search efforts. The entire community was determined to help in whatever way they could.

More information on these awards can be found on the website: http://www.peopleoftheyear.com/

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Report of capsized boat adrift – 19th August 2011

August 19th, 2011

At 16:25 this afternoon the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Operations Centre received a report of a small capsized boat adrift near Malahide, Co Dublin. A vigilent member of the public had spotted the small boat’s hull drifting in the water, not far from the shore at the Broadmeadows estuary.

The Skerries Coast Guard team were immediately dispatched to investigate. Having arrived on scene within minutes, the team quickly located the capsized boat in the water at the North Western part of the estuary, to the West of the Dublin-Belfast railway line. Initial observations concluded that there was no sign of anyone in the water nearby. At the time there were several other persons engaged in watersports at the estuary including windsurfers and kayakers. The prevailing weather conditions on scene were mixed with good visibilityand clear skies, but strong gusting force 6 Southerly winds.

After brief shoreline searches and investigations , the team located the boat’s owner at the Southern shoreline of the estuary, he confirmed it had drifted away from a mooring and that nobody was on board at the time. The owner was making arrangements to have it righted and retrieved. No further action was required and the team returned to base.

Remember – if you spot someone in difficulty or even if you think that someone could be in difficulty, call 999 or 112 and ask for the COAST GUARD. Your call could save their life.

Incident #17 of 2011

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